City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams plans to introduce a bill this week that would require private security guards receive active-shooter training and earn higher wages — proposals aimed at creating better conditions for the front-line workers in the wake of this summer’s grisly Park Ave. mass shooting.
The July 28 massacre at the 345 Park Ave. skyscraper in Midtown left four victims dead, including Aland Etienne, a 45-year-old security guard at the building, which houses the NFL offices that the suspected shooter sought to target before killing himself.
According to police, Etienne, who was unarmed, unsuccessfully tried before he was killed to crawl over to a desk in the building’s lobby to hit a button that would have shut down all elevator service — an effort that highlighted the plight that advocates for security guards say they face every day on the job.
Shooting victim and security guard Aland Etienne.
In the past few weeks, representatives for 32 BJ, the union Etienne was a member of, have engaged in conversations with Speaker Adams about drafting legislation that would enhance safety and working conditions for security guards following the tragedy on Park Ave.
Out of those conversations has come the “Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act,” which the speaker expects to introduce at Thursday’s Council meeting, she told the Daily News in an exclusive statement.
“Security officers like Aland are integral to New York City’s public safety infrastructure, but too often they are not compensated or treated with the dignity and respect they deserve,” said the speaker, who’s leaving the Council at the end of this year due to term limits, making this potentially one of her final substantive legislative pushes. “I’m proud to introduce the Aland Etienne Safety and Security Act, which would establish and enforce minimum pay standards, benefits and training for our city’s security guards, while ensuring they have the support and preparation they need.”
Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. (Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit)
On training, the bill proposes establishing a city standard requiring that every security guard undergo a 16-hour course on emergency preparedness and active-shooter response within 120 days of being hired, according to a fact sheet for the legislation provided to The News ahead of the Council meeting. Additionally, under the measure, guards would need to undergo an annual eight-hour refresher course on the same protocols.
All that training would be on top of already state-mandated courses on regular job duties guards need to complete before starting work.
On wages, the bill’s a bit vaguer, only directing the city Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to determine, over the course of a four-year period, what level of hourly compensation, paid sick leave, vacation and other benefits would be needed to ensure enough skilled security guards can be attracted and retained across various sectors in the city. The department would then be expected to put new mandates on companies to pay certain wage minimums to the roughly 82,000 security officers working in the city.
Though it doesn’t propose exact new wage levels, the fact sheet cites a recent University of California-Berkeley Labor Center report finding that security guards in New York City earn a median income of about $40,000. That’s less than 40% of the city’s area median income, and the fact sheet says that has resulted in a “turnover crisis” in the local security guard industry that drives away talent and jeopardizes public safety.
In order for the bill to become law, it would likely need the support of Mayor Adams. Asked about the speaker’s forthcoming bill, mayoral spokesman Zachary Nosanchuk said, “The Adams administration is dedicated to keeping New Yorkers safe in every corner of our city, and we will review this legislation.”
Smith Etienne, the younger brother of Aland Etienne, lauded the Council speaker’s new bill.
“If he were with us today, he’d be fighting for this legislation,” he said of his late brother. “Let’s honor his legacy by uplifting and protecting his colleagues across the city.”
Originally Published: September 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM EDT